MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. — A few weeks ago, cities across the country responded to President Trump’s intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord with their own commitments. But the City of Minneapolis, under a budget proposed by Mayor Betsy Hodges, is poised to do something novel: put real resources behind its climate and energy pledge. The mayor’s budget proposal would unlock more than $2 million in new funding, leverage more than $20 million in utility conservation funds and expand access to energy savings to many more residents and businesses

Included in Mayor Hodges’ proposal, unveiled this week, the city would increase its natural gas and electricity franchise fees by 0.5 percent — a nominal increase on payments already made by all utility customers in Minneapolis. The increase would yield substantially deeper resources for the city to pursue urgent energy goals, including retrofits of 75% of homes by 2025 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

“The mayor’s commitment would juice up the city’s one-of-a-kind Clean Energy Partnership with utilities Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy,” says John Farrell, a member of the citizen advisory board to the Partnership and director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). “It would mean far more city residents and businesses would have access to tools to cut their energy use, and be able to go deeper to reduce energy costs by 20% or more.”

Minneapolis plans to power all city functions using 100% renewable energy by 2030, and is working with utilities and a diverse group of stakeholders to determine other ways the city can create an equitable clean energy economy, with job creation and universal access to clean energy cost savings.

“This important action reflects the city’s position as a responsible leader in the fight against climate change,” Mayor Hodges said in her budget overview.

The franchise fee increase aligns with a recommendation by the Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership — a first-of-its-kind collaboration between CenterPoint Energy, Xcel Energy, and City Hall — to find a reliable source of ongoing funding to support wide-reaching efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions among Minneapolis residents and businesses, as well as city functions. These steps may include expanded access to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other programs for city businesses and residents.

About ILSR: The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a public interest organization, focused on helping communities see the economic benefits of renewable energy and distributed generation, generally. John Farrell is a member of the Clean Energy Partnership’s Energy Vision Advisory Committee, the director of ILSR’s Energy Democracy Initiative, and the president of Community Power, a grassroots organization pursuing clean, local, equitable, affordable, and reliable energy systems.

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The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a 42-year-old national nonprofit research and educational organization. ILSR’s mission is to provide innovative strategies, working models and timely information to support strong, community rooted, environmentally sound and equitable local economies. www.ilsr.org – Email stumolanger@ilsr.org for press inquiries.

Nick Stumo-Langer was Communications Manager at ILSR working for all five initiatives. He ran ILSR's Facebook and Twitter profiles and builds relationships with reporters. He is an alumnus of St. Olaf College and animated by the concerns of monopoly power across our economy.